Welcome!

Thanks for being brave enough to step into the world of cyber security! You won’t regret it, even though the very wording can cause the most tech-savvy person a certain amount of unease or anxiety.

I’m Cat, and I’ll be your guide for this mini course. I won’t baffle you with science or set out to scare you (that’s for Halloween!). I will, however, make this as straightforward and easy to understand as humanly possible.

I used to head up intelligence analysis for a national enforcement agency, as well as doing loads of other stuff, so I promise, you’re in safe hands.

In this short 10-lesson course, you are going to learn the basics of cyber security, the types of information you need to think about securing, and most importantly, how to take really easy, practical steps to secure your digital everything.

You might be here because you’ve already had your website or email attacked or hacked, but hopefully you’re here before that happens.

I’ll explain the basics of the steps you can take to stop future attacks in their tracks, and by the end of this mini course, you will have a good knowledge of what steps to take right now to reduce your chances of being attacked in the first place and secure your digital self.

Mythbusters

1. Cyber attacks are not reserved solely for big corporations or blue chip companies. While those attacks make a compelling headline, in reality, small businesses have become the latest sector to fall onto attackers’ hit lists.

2. “I don’t collect or hold any customer details on my website and use third-party email automation or CRM software, so I’m not a target.”

Wrong!Your website is not just a target for customer information — this is just one type of attack. Your site can be used as a host for attacks on other sites, effectively becoming a robot working for nefarious ends for the cyber criminal, or the aim is to damage your professional reputation.

3. “I only use secure networks or my phone provider’s data roaming while surfing in public places, so I’m pretty safe.”

Take Note!Widespread use of mobile devices and accessing the internet in public places has caused cyber criminals to adapt their attacking techniques to exploit the vulnerabilities in phone software or wifi/data connection in public spaces.

4. “I use a Mac, which can’t get infected.”

Wrong!While Macs have a different operating system, they are not immune and can easily still pass on viruses to other computers.

But don’t panic if you silently nodded along with the myths and are now thinking, “What the heck do I do?”

Keep going, follow the lessons, and you’ll be more cyber savvy in 10 short days!

In the next lesson, we are going to start looking at some common cyber security attacks that affect small businesses.